Mitchell Starc and spinner Nathan Lyon were the other
specialist bowlers named for the first of three matches against
the Sri Lankans, who failed to win any of their previous 10
Tests in Australia.

“It was a tough selection to leave Mitchell Johnson out,
but it’s a nice problem to have when you’ve got 12 blokes who
really want to play and have performed well,” Australia captain
Michael Clarke said in a televised news conference.

Shane Watson will bat at No. 4 following the retirement of
Ricky Ponting after last week’s Test series defeat to South
Africa, with the recalled Phil Hughes taking the No. 3 spot in
the order.

The teams are scheduled to play further Tests in Melbourne
and Sydney before contesting a five-match one-day series and two
Twenty20 internationals.

Jayawardene, who’s in his second stint as Sri Lanka captain,
said today that he’ll quit the role at the end of the tour. He
said he’ll continue to be available for selection in all three
formats.

“I was going to wait until the end of the series but I
thought I might as well do it now, having had a chat to the
selectors,” Jayawardene, 35, told reporters in Hobart. “I hope
I don’t get any more SOS calls from them later on. We need to
move on to a younger leader.”